THE CONTRIBUTOR.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 952, 7 May 1879, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE CONTRIBUTOR.

SALT AS A FERTILISER. Is ait portions of Xuw Zealand where agricuhtiriots suffer from the excessive dryness oi" the so;!,, caused cither from its lightness or porosity, or fjom tjic heat of its formations assisted by climatic influences, it becomes a vital necessity to secure if possible a mesas of conveying moisture to the soil. To effect this purpose irrigation ha 3 been set forth as the best known means; but as it is very often unattainable, or only so at a cost which places it beyond the means of the cultivator, it is necessary to look for some other valaable but less expensive and more easily obtained medium. This we find in common salt, which is at once one of the most economical and useful

assistants in the creation and preservation of moisture in soils. Salt (chloride of sodium) supplies soda and chlorine to plants; it attracts moisture from the atmosphere, and resists the action of frosts, while it also promotes the putrefaction of vegetable matter when properly used. "When mixed with lime, or associated with some of its combinations, such as gypsum, which is found in many portions of the soils of "Waitaki and "Waimate Counties, it produces much more active fertilisers. It makea the soil moist in dry weather and soft in frosty. It keeps everything in the soil in a soluble condition, and thus enables plants to take up their sap-food with the greatest facility ; and, finally, it destroys weeds and insects. The fact is gradually being forced upon our agriculturists that the soil of New Zealand, however rich in itself, must in the course of time lose its fertility if not sustained by some artificial means. We know of soils in Otago that were supposed at one time to be able to undergo successive croppine, without assistance, for any given time. What has been the consequence of this foolhardy system ? These lands are now a barren and unprofitable waste, not capable of supporting a goat, and are reduced to sand and primitive vegetation. Other lands that have also been exhausted from over cropping arc now covered with Capo weed and sorrel. Even in Waitaki County evidences of this extravagant system are not wanting. Is it not, therefore, high time that intelligent agriculturists should bestir themselves from the mere contemplation of an inevitable consequence to energetic action in the treatment of their lands by bringing into use manures for their improvement and support that are ready to their hands V Hitherto agriculture in New Zealand has only been deemed wheat producing, and as our native soils have been eminently productive, the standard of farming has simply been reduced to ploughing, sowing, and gathering. But in proportion to the quantity of wheat produced it is evident that we must either improve its quality ov its quantity to enable us to compete with other countries ; and is it not equally evident that it should be our honest aim to produce both results ? To do so we must use artificial means, because the facilities afforded us by soil and climate have proved insufficient to promote the first or ensure the certainty of the latter. The means for effecting vast improvements are to be found in the production of manure—first, by preserving our manure ; and second, by composting our weeds and vubbiah. In Canada it is no unusual sight to see compost heaps composed of the above materials; indeed, Canadian farmers are much more careful of waste stuff than Australasian cultivators. Farm-yard manures are very advantageously mixed with salt, in the proportion of two tons of the latter to thirty of the former. The use of salt lias many advantages. By it insects and the seeds <;ihJ roots of wcudo contained in the manure are destroyed, while it promotes the fermentation and decomposition of the whole mass. It does not set free the ammonia contained in the manure, and when mixed with lime it produces chloride of .:;ilcitt!'!, which !' '1 <'!- stronger attraction for moisture than .'.lismst any utile-: compound. When mixed with gypsum (sulphato of lime) salt supplies soda and sulphuric acid in the most economical manner obtainable. When gypsum is associated with manure it lias the effect of fixing the ammonia contained in it.

The effects produced by tha judicious use of salt in connection with the production of ; cereals i» of greut importance to acrrionluirists, as it gives a larger oar, heavier L'rain, r.nd firmer straw. But while it improves assimilation, it on the other hand retards germination, during which period the plant receives so much more strength that it soon vigorously outstrips others not similarly treated. It also brings the plant sooner to maturity, and enables it to master the weeds which arc initially associated with its L'rowtii. Cereal lands dressed with a quantity of the manure described Mould return enormous yields per acre, and would ensure an improvement in the quality of the main, while its effects on root crops and pasture lands would be even more marked, because they contain more salt in their composition and require more moisture. Ammonia, which forms a portion of all farmyard manures, has a very great euect in combination with salt. The last-named material retards, the other forces—hence ammonia promotes early vegetation, while salt give.; strength., firmness, and solidity to it. Nearly all Canadian farmers use salt in stacking meadow hay or in stowing it away in the large mows which their barns contain, because it preserves its freshness and imparts to it sweetness of flavor on the one hand, while on the other it prevents its heating in case of portions of it not being sufficiently dried. To clean land of couch grass, sorrel, and weeds of any kind, from 25 to 30 bushels of coarse salt (sown broadcast) to the acre would suffice, as it would be sufficient to destroy vegetation. The fall of the year is the best time for this opeiation. When the weeds seem to be all dead, the land should be ploughed and left in fallow till the spring opens. Then it should be cross ploughed and harrowed, and it will be in a good state for turnips or potatoes. The next crop in rotation may be wheat.

From four to five bushels of salt to the acre strewn broadcast after gcp.d vflieat improves both the soil and the after crop wonderfully. After so wine each succeeding crop the same quantity of salt should be used. The return in potatoes or turnips after this treatment is tenfold in all strong loamy or fairly rich light lauds. But should the soil so treated have been exhausted previously, turnips drilled in with bone manure should follow, to be afterwards eaten off by sheep. Wheat may come next, then potatoes, and so on ; but in all oases the practice must uniformly be that of salting before ploughing, in cleaning land after sowing in the case of cereals and after planting in that of potatoes or other root crops. We have high practical authority for stating that soils and crops thus treated will never fail to yield great returns. Pasture and hay lands are also greatly improved by a top dressing composed of salt and dry ashes aud earth, well mixed, and hand-sown broadcast over their surfaces. L'astures treated in this way in Waitaki County about six <-r seven weeks before the spring blade shoots would carry two or more sheep to the acre extra when the spring opens', and give them better heart than our present system of grazing affords. Of course after dressing lands stock must be kept off them for a time. Amateur horticulturists should adopt the system of slightly salting th'eir orchards and small fruit gardens, while in the kitchen garden it is a well-known fact that the moderate nse of coarse salt sown on the surface after the planting of peas, beano, cabbages, &c., has the effect of bringing them to maturity three weeks to a month earlier tlian without it. We have no doubt that the system would be found to improve flowers as well as fruits; but let it always

be borne in mind that the careless application of salt over given quantities will, with a few exceptions, kill vegetation. We hope that by putting these few practical facts before the readers of the Agbicultuhist, some of them may be induced to break through the accepted prejudices of the present systems and set an example which will lead to the results we aim at—namely, improvement in agricultural pursuits.